Games

Best of 2008 | 07 | 06 | 05
Advanced Search

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Knights in the Nightmare

EMAIL PRINT ds

8.8 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >

Game Info

Publisher: Atlus USA

Developer: Sting

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy, Role-Playing Game, Shooter

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: June 2, 2009

Summary

Somewhere between heaven and the underworld -- in the center of a quiet lake -- stood an ancient castle known as Aventheim. One night, without warning, denizens of the netherworld emerged and slaughtered the kingdom; nary a soul was left alive. Within an abandoned, long-forgotten church deep in the woods, a wisp is set free. Bereft of memory, it is drawn toward the monster-infested castle and re-awakens the souls of the vanquished knights, leading them back towards the fallen stronghold to confront the very forces of evil that took their lives. An experience unlike any before it -- Incorporating strategy RPG, real-time strategy, and shooter elements, you've never experienced a game like this. Control a Wisp with your stylus and activate the souls of deceased knights to aid you in destroying foes on the map. Enemies fire bullets in multiple directions, making it vital for players to master the unique touch controls. Over 100 playable characters -- Find and recruit the ghosts of seven different classes of knights from your kingdom, and learn of their pasts, hopes, dreams, and untimely deaths. Sacrifice their souls to one another to balance their skills and create your ultimate party. A tale from two perspectives -- This twice-told legend entangles you in a dark and brooding tale that is simultaneously examined through events both past and present. Complete the adventure to unlock the ability to play through the game with a new narrative twist, placing the antagonist in the starring role. [Atlus USA]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Cheat Code Central

There's just so much content here and so much complexity that once you get a handle on how the game works, it's going to be difficult to stop playing.

Read Full Review >

ZTGameDomain

Knights in the Nightmare is a miraculous achievement in game design, and one hell of an RPG experience.

Read Full Review >

Worth Playing

Aside from the fact that the game has a fairly steep learning curve early on, there isn't a lot to complain about when it comes to Knights in the Nightmare.

Read Full Review >

RPGamer

Knights is something completely unique and as such has a learning curve. But, once the game is understood, it only gets better and better.

Read Full Review >

GameZone

You’ll know the first time you play it whether this game is for you – you’ll either be immediately dissuaded by its complexity and depth, or you’ll fall in love with them. It might be the very definition of “niche title”, but for those who get it, Knights in the Nightmare provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Read Full Review >

IGN

An awesome addition to the DS library.

Read Full Review >

Gamer 2.0

Knights in the Nightmare isn’t a game that everybody will love simply because it’s one of the most complex games ever to be released. There is no game to really compare it to, except for maybe Ikaruga, and that’s not even an RPG.

Read Full Review >

Everyeye.it

Knights in the Nightmare can’t be judged by numbers. It breaks the barriers between two different genres, melting elements and creating something really different. Sometimes it loses himself in the hugeness of the magnificent gameplay, but it’s a little sin, and the supporting elements, from the plot to the fantastic artistic direction, confirm the quality of the production. Hail to Sting, for the courage needed to innovate, and to Atlus, for taking the responsibility to believe in their vision.

Read Full Review >

Destructoid

In the end, no other DS title plays like Knights in the Nightmare. It's one of those games that gives you as much as you put into it.

Read Full Review >

Extreme Gamer

If you have a DS and are sick of the same old RPG clones that have been coming out this past year then Knights may be just what you are looking for, especially if you don’t mind trying new things.

Read Full Review >

RPG Fan

If you're a series fan, there's no question that you need to play this game. For newcomers, I only offer this one warning: be ready for a challenge.

Read Full Review >

Nintendo Life

Those of you willing to take the challenge will find a beautiful, genre-bending game with near-endless amounts of strategy, customisation and content. Truly, Knights In The Nightmare is a game worthy of the title "hardcore".

Read Full Review >

GameSpot

Knights in the Nightmare combines deep tactical role playing with frantic old-school bullet dodging to tremendous effect.

Read Full Review >

Thunderbolt

Knights in the Nightmare is not an easy game to get into, and its complicated mechanics might be too overwhelming for those looking for simpler fun. Regardless, few games can reward your efforts as well as this one can. Pick it up if you want something different. Long live the king.

Read Full Review >

NintendoWorldReport

Knights in the Nightmare, while complicated, is an excellent game worthy of players' time and effort.

Read Full Review >

Nintendo Power

As unlikely as it seems, it's a great combination of cerebral strategy and pure twitch challenge. [July 2009, p.86]

GameCritics

Knights in the Nightmare struggles under the weight of its own complexity but the bizarre melding of divergent gaming subgenres make it a title I'd recommend to anyone bored with gaming's status quo.

Read Full Review >

NGamer UK

The most complex RPG we've ever played. Takes a lot of time to get to grips with, let alone master, but it's worth the effort. [Sept 2009, p.71]

Teletext GameCentral

Part tactical role-player, part bullet hell shooter - this is hard to get into but worth it if you do.

Read Full Review >

GamePro

Casual players and even tactical RPG fans may have a hard time getting used to Knights in the Nightmare, and I can guarantee that the effort to learn the battle system will be worth it in the long run. [July 2009, p.86]

Game Informer

An intriguing excursion into uncharted territory. [June 2009, p.93]

Games Radar (in-house)

Knights in the Nightmare isn't a bad game; the combat system is addictive as hell, and though the various elements of the game that might seem like an odd mix, together they make a lot of sense. It just tries to do too much, so instead of a historic must-play that changes the genre forever, we get a quirky, worthwhile oddity.

Read Full Review >

Edge Magazine

For its fights alone Knights In The Knightmare is a worthy effort, another semi-successful attempt to find the sweet spot for stylus-driven roleplay. [July 2009, p.101]

Gamervision

The story never draws you in, battles take forever, diminishing the game’s allure as a portable experience, and the fact that you play as a ball of light introduces a layer of separation from the game’s characters that ensures your disinterest in their fates.

Read Full Review >

Game Revolution

It fails in the most fundamental aspect: the gameplay. It’s generally dull. Despite a high initial learning curve – usually the sign of a game with depth and complexity – Knights in the Nightmare is shallow and simple.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jeremy S gave it a7:
Knights in the Nightmare is game that I wanted to like a lot more than I did. I commend Sting on creating something this unique and interesting, but it wasn't a game I wholeheartedly enjoyed. The whole game contradicts itself. The battle system is extremely confusing until you get the hang of it, then I came to the realization that it was deceivingly simple, just a bit convoluted. The story is well written and has an epic scale, but I didn't feel any connection to most of the characters. (There are an astounding amount of units to recruit) On the other hand, the artwork and sprites are absolutely beautiful. The compelling music has a castlevania vibe going for it. (The game comes with a music CD with tons of tracks, good stuff) It's not a great game, but it is a good game that does a lot of interesting things. Most of these things work, some of them tried my patience. I'd highly recommend it to those who have patience and are fans of SRPG's. If you are neither of these, get this game at your own risk.

Brandon gave it an8:
This game is really interesting but the story is a little hard to pick up, and the easy is too easy and the medium is just tedious. It has rough edges but it certainly provides a good amount of entertainment value.

Carme M gave it a10:
Knights in the Nightmare is an amazing game. I was iffy about buying it, and wondered if it was worth it in the first few hours of gameplay. It took a bit of time getting used to it, the games complexity is astonishing, but that hour spent in the tutorials is well worth it. The game is lacking in the plot category in the beginning of the game, but it intensifies as you go along. I'm a plot FANATIC, I need a good plot in a game to make it good. Knights in the Nightmare gives you two views of the plot. It has a current plot before a battle, and a flashback after a battle. The flashback has more to do with character backrounds. Little bits of information that give each character soul. Knights in the Nightmare gives you many options as well. You could complete any level a MILLION ways, each play through can be different. The variety and quality of the game is great. The mixture of genres is smooth, almost creating a genre all by itself. The graphics are fantastic as well in my opinion. Many if not all the characters are hand drawn. This was not cut and paste. There are SO MANY CHARACTERS. I mean A LOT. I was surprised how many, and each is unique in it's own way. Knights in the Nightmare is by far my favorite DS title. It is a must buy for hardcore gamers. Lighter players may find it too confusing, or just plain old boring due to all the preparations needed to go into the battle. But I love it, LOVE it. A 10/10 in my books.

Reed W. gave it a10:
Great music, great sprites, great art direction, amazing gameplay. The story isn't exactly top-notch, but it's enough to pull you along; not that this is really necessary with gameplay this great though. Game of the year for 2009 so far.

dave j. gave it a5:
A game I just couldn't get into. I tried the tutorials and I realised what to do but its probably just not a game for me. I recommend this one only to massive fans of SRPG games because this is about as hardcore as it gets for the genre. Definitely not for everyone.

Jay S. gave it a9:
I'll try not to include things in my review that have already been mentioned in some of the linked reviews... here goes: So far I've found this game to be different and enjoyable, but there is one major flaw, in my opinion: This is a portable strategy game, but you can't save mid-battle. I know i can close the lid, but what if I need to power down? I don't want to have to replay these long levels over. Also, people keep calling this an SRPG-RTS-Shmup hybrid. It's not. It's definitely bullet hell, cuz you have a lot of top-down 2D mayhem going on, but it's not a shmup- the wisp can't fire back. It's in real-time. but it's nothing like an RTS. At all. It might help if you didn't come into this game thinking that. I mean most of your units can't even move, so that RTS comparison is really strange. As far as turn-based strategy goes... well the "turns" a weird. They're very long and there are a LOT of them. I haven't been playing for long, so I've decided to just "go with the flow" and not disrupt the game's user rating (9 at the time i reviewed it), but I have a feeling that I'm not going to dig this game as much as the other reviewer. Definitely a game you want to try before you buy, no matter how much you like SRPGs. My last couple of games were FF Tactics A2, FFIV, Luminous Arc 2, Disgaea DS, and I'm currently playing Valkyrie Profile - Covenant of the Plume, but this game feels less strategic than any of those games. More confusing and probably more challenging, but less strategic (if that makes any sense).

James A. gave it a10:
An amazing game at the intersection of design and beauty. There probably won't be any other game released this year with as much care and love put into it. FPS suckups and industry vampires need not apply.

Games

Sony

Microsoft

Nintendo

Other Platforms

Upcoming &Recent Releases

Knights in the Nightmare

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases